With
a slam the window was blown shut. Maria looked up startled, and
glanced over at the Lady Ella. Not a movement. Sighing Maria looked
back down at her stitching.

Silently
the Lady Ella rose and threw open the window again. The wind shot
through the room, blowing about the Lady's long blonde curls. A
visible shiver went through the Lady, and Maria rushed to shut the
window.

Gritting
her teeth, Maria helped the Lady back into her chair. The bastard!
Maria kneeled besides the Lady, stroking her hair, but the Lady's
eyes remained blank and unseeing.

Slowly
the eyes of the Lady closed, and Maria returned once again to her
embroidery. She spread out the pale blue fabric and admired her
handiwork. In silver stitching was a slender shoe. In the candlelight
the silver flickered as Maria set to work on filling in the outline.
Her mind wandered.

Walking
past with an armful of laundry, the pretty laces and gowns the Prince
had bought for his lovely new wife. They had been together for a
little over a year, and all could see there undying love for each
other.

A
shout came from behind the closed doors of the Master bedroom. Maria
paused and listened. She knew the punishment for eavesdropping, the
humility and eventual death. Still she stayed, her ear pressed
against the thick wooden door.

Another
shout, followed by whimpers. Words were spoken, the words are now
lost, but the anger was there. Unforgiving anger and rage. Maria's
knees trembled slightly, she had never heard such anger. The Prince
was the gentle sort, loving and kind. A loud crash, followed by a
painful scream echoed, chilling Maria's very bones.

Quickly
Maria continued, and heard the door slam open. There was a tinkling
of broken glass, and Maria dared a look behind her. The Prince stood
looking at his hands in horror, and the pieces of glass fell. Blood
dripped red from the Prince's fair hands. Maria fled. That was the
last the Prince was seen.

The
Lady Ella had been found hours later, face down unconscious. The
court physician was rushed to the Lady's side, but nothing could be
done. For months the Lady slept, and the whole castle was silent. No
one spoke of the incident. And no one knew what Maria had seen.

Pale
faced, Maria rushed into the Prince's room. There lay the Lady, her
face pale and shocked. Swallowing Maria gently turned her over, as
she could not bear to see the tragically beautiful face. Even in near
death the Lady's beauty was evident, and Maria was choked with
emotion.

The
Lady's hand was curled around something. Gently Maria opened her hand
to reveal a beautiful, sparkling glass slipper. Maria lifted it up
the light, gazing at it in wonder. She recalled the glass, and
supposed the other slipper must have been crushed.

Footsteps
echoed in the hallway, and in a flash the slipper had disappeared
into Maria's front pocket. She rose to greet Edward, the manservant
and told him what happened. He alerted the others.

Maria
rose and dared a look out the window. The sky had begun to darken,
and there were no stars. Maria looked at her Lady. Ella's long
slender fingers were now gnarled from cuts. Her face remained young,
and smooth, with skin the color of milk and lips as red as roses.

Maria
gently tapped the Lady's arm, and the Lady woke with a start. The
Lady had been asleep for almost a year when she awoke. But something
was not the same. Things that once gave her joy held no affect. She
displayed no emotion, just constant indifference, her eyes glazed
over.

Maria
had volunteered to care for the Lady, when all thought she was dead.
Maria gently coaxed Ella out of her chair and guided her down the
hallway, where she prepared her for bed. The Lady was like a living
doll, perfect in everyway, but missing life.

Once
the Lady was tucked in, Maria retreated to her own room. Once in her
room she opened the chest by her bed, and lifted the false bottom.
Wrapped carefully in pieces of cloth, the slipper glittered. Maria
unwrapped the slipper and sat on her bed, gently running her finger
over the smooth surface repeatedly. Her mind flashed and she
remembered her dream from the night of the happening.

She
wandered through silver hallways, lined with hundreds and hundreds of
mirrors. Her mind spun and she fell to the ground, utterly lost. She
stared at her reflection. A pale golden light began to appear, slowly
growing brighter and larger. Maria watched in fascination as her
reflection was replaced by an ethereal being.